Toronto Housing Market Blew Away Records In 2015: Real Estate Board

TORONTO — The Toronto Real Estate Board says that 2015 was a record sales year for its members.

The number of sales last year through TREB realtors totalled 101,299 — up 9.2 per cent from 2014.

It says the Toronto-area had 4,945 residential sales last month, the second-highest on record for a December.

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Coolest Condos Going Up In Toronto (2015)

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Possibly the highest-profile condo tower going up in TO right now, this building at the corner of Bloor and Yonge will add 732 condominium units and 100,000 square feet of retail space to the area. Developer: Great Gulf Homes. Construction end: 2015. More.

Possibly the most classy-looking (and classical-looking) condos going up in Toronto today, these two buildings curve around Davenport Road where it becomes Bay Street. The buildings are sold out. Developer: Mizrahi Developments. Construction end: 2015. More.

Water Tower is the second building in the Eau de Soleil complex on Humber Bay, west of downtown. The 46-story building will connect up with the already-built 66-story first tower, which is reportedly the tallest building in Canada outside of a downtown core. Developer: Empire Communities. Construction end: 2018. More.

Famed achitect Moshe Safdie built Habitat 67 for the Montreal Expo, and nearly 50 years later, he's back with his next Canadian project: This 44-story, 552-unit building that features rooftop greenspaces and includes family-friendly three-bedroom units. Developer: Great Gulf Homes. Construction end: 2017. More.

Proof that you can fit a condo building on a space once meant for a detached home or business. But this building, one of the smallest condos going up in Toronto, is exclusively for the wealthy. Prices start at $2.3 million. Developer: Burnac. Construction end: 2015.

Toronto developers are finally breaking with tradition and putting up buildings that aren't just giant rectangles. The Massey Tower is a prime example. The upscale building located steps from the financial centre of Canada (Bay and King) incorporates a 1905 Canadian Bank of Commerce building as its lobby. Developer: MOD Developments. Construction end: 2016. More.

This complex of two buildings in the city's trendy west-end neighbourhood of Roncesvalles features some of the city's largest condo suites — some have three of those balconies you can see on the higher levels. 177 units in the two eight-story buidings. Developer: Triumph. Construction end: n/a. More.

Located in the burgeoning Yonge and 401 area, these green towers, 42 and 43 stories in height, will certainly change the view for commuters driving along the 401. Developer: Metropia, Bazis, Plaza. Construction end: 2015. More.

Located across the street from the ROM's cubist entrance, this building, built to look like a stack of shifting blocks, will make this stretch of Bloor Street a hotspot of modernist architecture. 200 units in this 32-story building. Developer: Metropia, Bazis, Plaza. Construction end: 2016. More.

One of the nice things about this building in the Keele and Wilson area is that, unlike many of the others on this list, it's relatively inexpensive. Units were advertised as starting at $189,000, which for Toronto is as affordable as it gets. 200 units in this 11-story building. Developer: Cityzen, Fernbrook Homes. Construction end: 2015. More.

This 39-story, 402-unit building rising above the Entertainment District is sure to give Toronto's skyline a much-needed burst of colour. The design is meant to emulate other iconic downtown buildings such as Frank Gehry's redesign of the Art Gallery of Ontario. Developer: Monarch Group, Goldman Group, Construction end: 2016. More.

Not visible in this picture is the city block of greenspace that surrounds this unique building at Yonge and Wellesley. There are 739 units in this 60-story building, some of which start at $199,000. Developer: Lanterra. Construction end: 2016. More.

This building is part of a $1.1-billion redevelopment of Toronto's waterfront, from a delapitated post-industrial port to a neighbourhood of modernist condos. This is the first building in what will eventually be a 2-million-square-foot development of residential and commercial space. Developer: Hines, Tridel. Construction end: 2016. More.

The 2015 average selling price for homes of all sort — including condos and detached houses — was $622,217, up 9.8 per cent from the previous year.

The Greater Toronto Area and other parts of southern Ontario have experienced stronger demand than most Canadian markets — outdone only by parts of British Columbia in the Greater Vancouver and Lower Mainland areas.

The Toronto Real Estate Board says sales in its area would have been even higher than they were if there had been more properties available and there's still pent-up demand that will carry over into this year.

"TREB will release its official 2016 outlook later in January, but suffice to say that the demand for ownership housing is expected to remain very strong in 2016," said Jason Mercer, TREB's director of market analysis.